Struck by Cupid's Arrow

Lexington Brewing Company and Wine House

Date Visited:  August 3, 2019

Stop:  #36

Our Michigan Wines and Signs quest, Eastern Thumb Loop, was gaining momentum – we had visited 7 historical markers in 3 hours.  Even with the extra stop at the roadside park after our visit to the White Rock School, we had actually picked up our pace (I guess officially, we had made 8 stops in 3 hours!!).  It was a few minutes after 1:00 pm and we were getting very hungry and very thirsty, so we were primed for our first wine stop of the day.  After we left the Great Storm of 1913 historical marker, we drove 9.5 miles south into Lexington.   What we didn’t know at the time was that the wine house we were going to visit was also the site of our next historical marker as well – two for the price of one!!!  This would really improve our average stops-per-hour rate and gave us a glimmer of hope that our original objectives for the day could be met.  Or would it?

As we entered Lexington, there seemed to be a lot of people in town.  It was challenging to find a spot to park, but we got lucky and found a space in the lot right next door to the Lexington Brewing Company and Wine House, our next stop on our quest.  This place is the wine tasting facility for the Blue Water Winery and Vineyard.  The winery itself is actually 8.1 miles north of the Wine House, located at 7131 Holverson Rd. in Carsonville.  The winery, as well as the Lexington Brewing Company and Wine House, are owned by Connie Currie and Steve Velloff.

Connie and Steve were high-tech software executives living and working in Chicago.  After a few years of research with wine industry experts from the University of California (Davis), they found 10 acres of land outside of Lexington, Michigan, that they felt was a perfect place to start a vineyard.  In 2005, they bought the land, quit their jobs, moved to Michigan, and set their dreams in motion.  The vineyard was started from scratch – they had to clear the land and then planted a wide variety of cold-climate varietals.  All their sweat and muscle has paid off nicely for them.  Since 2012, they have won several prestigious awards for their wines:

2012 Best of Class Gold LA International - Gruner Veltliner
2013 Gold Medal San Francisco International - Cab Franc
2014 Silver Medal San Francisco Chronicle - Pinot Noir
2015 Silver Medal Michigan Wine and Spirits - Cupids Arrow
2017 Bronze Medal San Francisco Chronicle - Riesling

Beginning in 2013, Connie and Steve began planting and growing hops for their brewery as well. 

Connie and Steve opened the Lexington Brewing Company and Wine House in 2009 in the former Old Lexington Town Hall and Masonic Temple building (more on this building in my next blog).  Connie is the winemaker and Steve is the brewmaster.  The Brewing Company and Wine House has an outdoor sitting area along the storefront.  The inside has an old-time atmosphere about it, with its brick walls and dark wood tables, chairs, and bar.  On this particular day, the place was packed and we had to wait a few minutes for a table to clear before we could be seated.  We were fortunate to get a booth along the brick wall so we had a great view of the whole place.  It was tempting to pick a beer off the blackboard beer menu hanging on the back wall, but we were on a wine quest, so the beer would have to wait for another day.  Our waitress was very nice, but was being kept very busy by the large crowd.  That gave us plenty of time to figure out what we were going to eat, and what wines we were going to drink.

The menu was rather simple – two different flatbread pizzas, 7 “Small Bite” selections (like chips and salsa, warm bread and dipping oil, and Jeff’s Brat and Kraut), and 4 different shareable platters (i.e. charcuterie board, fruit and cheese board, etc.).  We decided on the Chips and Salsa, and the Cheese and Pepperoni Flatbread pizza.  Next, it was deciding on what wines to try.  You can order by the glass ($5 to $7 per glass), by the bottle ($15 to $24 per bottle), or by the flight (four 2.5-oz. pours for $10).  It goes without saying that we all decided to go with a flight.  On this day, we got to choose from a list of 4 white wines, 10 red wines, and one dessert wine.  So, here is the lineup that each of us got:

Sarah: 

•  Blond Bombshell (Dry fruity, and floral white wine)
• When in Rome Red (Dry, full body, mineral, long finish, medium tannins)
• Marquette ’18 (Dry, big flavor and tannins red wine) 
• Cupid’s Arrow (port infused with chocolate and raspberry)

Kathy:

• Cab Franc ’15 (dry, hint of raspberry and spice, earthy red wine)
• Chambourcin ’16 (dry, medium body, cherry overtones, low in tannins, red wine)
•  Cherry (a bit on the tart side)
• Cupid’s Arrow

John:

• Semi-Dry Riesling (apples and pears overtones)
• Sweet Pinup Red (round and sweet)
• Concord (flora and fruity)
• Cupid’s Arrow

So, the flatbread pizza was awesome – we only got one pizza to split amongst the three of us, and we should have definitely gotten at least two.  All of the wines were pleasant, but we definitely had our favorites.  Sarah liked the Marquette, and she walked out with a bottle of that.  We all liked the Cherry, so that was another two bottles.  And I really enjoyed the Sweet Pinup Red, but I restrained myself and chose not to get a bottle.  But there was one wine we all raved about, and that was Cupid’s Arrow, the dessert wine.  We were trying to decide how many of those we were going to buy when our waitress wandered by and mentioned that all bottles of wine would be 50% off on the Thursday coming up.  I could hear the gears churning in Kathy’s head, so before she could even suggest it, I resolved in my mind that I would be roadtripping to Lexington on Thursday afternoon. 

And sure enough, that is exactly what I did.  Kathy and Sarah were going to attend a wine conference in Lansing that Thursday night and then meet me in Caseville for the first weekend of Cheeseburger in Paradise.  I, on the other hand, was to drive to Caseville Thursday night by way of Lexington (only an hour out of the way) with our two pups in tow and pick up eight bottles of Cupid’s Arrows at half price.  I walked into the Brewery and Wine House just a little after 7:00 pm and walked straight up to the bar.  I told the bartender I wanted to buy 8 bottles of Cupid’s Arrow and she got someone to retrieve the bottles for me.  While I was waiting, I mentioned that one of the bottles of wine was going to make its way to the Czech Republic (a gift for Sarah’s future in-laws), and the bartender says “OMG” and then tells me that her best friend’s grandmother was from the Czech Republic and that they went to visit the country just recently to trace her escape from Communist controlled Czechoslovakia to the States.  In honor of that friendship, the brewery made a Czech Pilsner, so I had to at least sample it.  Turns out it was outstanding, so I bought a growler of it with the intent of drinking it with Sarah’s fiancée, Martin, when he came into town.  So, that was a pleasant surprise and definitely added to the value of driving an hour out of the way to get to Caseville.

Overall, our visit to the Lexington Brewing Company and Wine House was very enjoyable.  The food was good, the wine was great, the service was really good, and we all loved the atmosphere.  I especially enjoyed that fact that we were eating and drinking in an historical building.  Looking at my watch, I was surprised to see that it was 3:00 pm so it was time to go outside and read the historical marker about the building we just spent an hour and a half in!!!  It was also looking like our goals for the day would not be met seeing as it took 2 hours to cover the last two stops.

#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #wine #michiganwine #winetasting #historyisbetterwithwine